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Future Now

What is a Music Publisher and What A Publisher Can Do For You

Music Publisher (Popular Music)

[from wikipedia]

In the music industry, a music publisher (or publishing company) is responsible for ensuring the songwriters and composers receive payment when their compositions are used commercially. Through an agreement called a publishing contract, a songwriter or composer "assigns" the copyright of their composition to a publishing company. In return, the company licenses compositions, helps monitor where compositions are used, collects royalties and distributes them to the composers. They also secure commissions for music and promote existing compositions to recording artists, film and television.

The term originally referred to publishers of sheet music. In the late 19th century sheet music was the primary commercial use of musical compositions. Today, the two businesses have diverged the large companies known as "music publishers" are not typically in the business of producing printed music.

The copyrights owned and administered by publishing companies are one of the most important forms of intellectual property in the music industry. (The other is the copyright on a master recording which is typically owned by a record company.) Publishing companies play a central role in managing this vital asset.

Music Publisher's Role

[from wikipedia]

Successful songwriters and composers have a relationship with a publishing company defined by a publishing contract. The publisher agrees to see to it that the composers receive royalties from various uses of their compositions. They also provide substantial advances against future income. In return, the publishing company receives a percentage, which can be as high as 50% and varies for different kinds of royalties.

There are several types of royalties: mechanical royalties derive from the sale of recorded music, such as CDs or digital downloads. These royalties are paid to publishers by record companies (through the Harry Fox Agency as well as through American Mechanical Rights Agency in the U.S.). Performance royalties are collected by performance rights organizations such as SESAC, BMI or ASCAP and are paid by radio stations and others who broadcast recorded music. Synchronization royalties are required when a composition is used in a film or television soundtrack. These royalties typically pass through the hands of a music publisher before they reach the composer.

Publishers also work to link up new songs by songwriters with suitable recording artists to record them and to place writers' songs in other media such as movie soundtracks and commercials. They will typically also handle copyright registration and "ownership" matters for the composer. Music print publishers also supervise the issue of songbooks and sheet music by their artists.

Behind the Music of Future Now

Future Now is fortunate enough to have what can only be seen as a powerhouse of production potential in the engineering area at all stages of production (track recording, mastering, mixing, post mastering - graphics and prepping for CD and radio airplay) . In addition to Paul adding his input and playing the drums and occasional keyboards, bass guitar and vocals, he also takes the sounds that are vibrating in the air and apply them to the digital medium using the premiere Roland 2480 Digital Workstation. As mentioned before, Paul currently provides the beat on electronic drums (Roland VDrums stage set) but started out with acoustic drums (Rogers drums that date back to the old jazz days). Paul has been engineering Future Now's sound since the beginning of 1984 and has built close to a dozen studios using equipment through the years that provided sound to a mix that competed technically to the better material heard on the radio and commercially avalable CDs. Some of this equipment operated primarily in the analog domain (fostex, alesis, boss, yamaha, and mackie) and, in later years, in the digital domain (roland and alesis). The sound produced is very clean. The instruments are pristine. The vocals are clean and feel as though they can wrap you up in the warm lush harmonies in the final post-mastered cd sound. The production does not stop there, Paul produces the photographic and graphic expertise that goes into the final CD product, and ultimately videography and DVD production for Future Now's reference videos.

"You feel the loss of self as one of the plural rose. You fear they'll notice that you're standing on your toes. But while they close their petals to nurture the flower inside. You spread your pedal wings far and wide"